The drummer and percussionist Billy Martin, whose name many Time Sensitive listeners may recognize—he created the Time Sensitive theme song—defies any boxed-in or limiting definitions of his work. Best known as a member of the band Medeski Martin & Wood (MMW), he’s spent the past three-plus decades making experimental, boundary-pushing, and uncategorizable instrumental jazz-funk-groove music, shaping sounds that feel as expansive as they are definitive and distinctive. Across all his artistic output, Martin continually, meditatively searches for harmony. He is also a composer, a teacher, a visual artist, and a builder and craftsman. His expansive creative practice comes most alive at his home in Englewood, New Jersey, where he has cultivated a bamboo garden, crafted his own Japanese-style teahouse, and constructed a music studio. Martin is someone for whom rhythm is not just something heard, but also seen and felt . On the episode, he talks about his MMW journey at length, his concept of “rhythmic harmony,” and why he views sound creation as a sacred act. Special thanks to our Season 11 presenting sponsor, Van Cleef & Arpels . Show notes: Billy Martin [7:31] Medeski Martin & Wood [7:31] John Medeski [7:31] Chris Wood [7:31] “Not Not Jazz” (2024) [10:12] Iggy Pop’s “Avenue B” (1999) [10:12] Don Was [11:27] “The Lover” (1995) [11:27] “Friday Afternoon in the Universe” (1995) [11:27] “Old Angel Midnight” (1973) by Jack Kerouac [13:44] Ra-Kalam Bob Moses [13:44] John Scofield [13:44] David Baker [15:57] “Shuck It Up” (1993) [15:57] “It’s a Jungle in Here” (1993) [18:12] “Latin Shuffle” (1998) [18:12] “Combustication” (1998) [18:12] Frankie Malabe [18:12] Art Blakey [33:25] Thelonious Monk [33:58] “Life on Drums” (2011) [38:32] John Bonham [38:32] Charlie Watts [38:32] Stewart Copeland [38:32] Elvin Jones [38:32] Max Roach [38:32] Danny Richmond [38:32] Charles Mingus [38:32] Jack DeJohnette [38:32] Joe Morello [38:32] Roy Haynes [38:32] Stan Getz [38:32] Airto Moreira [38:32] Naná Vasconcelos [38:32] Babatunde Olatunji [39:58] Gus Johnson [39:58] “Whatever Happened to Gus” (1998) [39:58] Steve Cannon [40:54] “Chubb Sub” (1995) [40:54] ”Uncle Chubb” (1992) [46:41] “Shack-man” (1996) [47:06] “Drumming Birds” (2004) [54:48] “Bamboo Rainsticks” (1999) [54:48] Amulet Records [1:00:23] Creative Music Studio
